The present invention relates to an arrangement for gripping at least one teat cup, wherein the arrangement comprises a storing device adapted to hold the teat cup in a parked position and a gripping device adapted to grip the parked teat cup in the storing device and wherein the gripping device comprises a contact surface which is adapted to be moved to a position in which it is in contact with a contact surface of the teat cup during a gripping operation of the teat cup.
Usually, a milking robot for automatic milking of animals comprises a robot arm provided with a gripper for gripping one or several teat cups at a time parked in a teat cup magazine. The robot arm is adapted to grip and move the teat cups from the teat cup magazine and attach them to the teats of an animal. Normally, the robot arm is provided with a gripper comprising movable jaws or the like which are closed around a teat cup during a gripping operation of the teat cup in a teat cup magazine.
US 2008/0022933 shows a gripper mounted on a robot arm of a milking robot. The gripper comprises an electromagnet adapted to grip a teat cup of a magnetic material in a teat cup magazine and move it to a teat cup attaching position. In one embodiment of this invention, the gripper is provided with two electromagnets arranged at a distance from each other. This gripper is able to grip two teat cups at a time which are parked in a teat cup magazine.
However, the action of the magnetic force from an electromagnet decreases very fast with the distance. Consequently, the gripper has to be moved to a grip position of a teat grip with a very high precision in order to grip the teat cup in a reliable manner. Furthermore, the teat cups have to be parked in predetermined positions in a teat cup magazine with a very high precision. Such requirements of the gripper and the teat cup magazine results in a relatively expensive product.